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SB 1085
PA Senate Bill 1085 "The Balanced and Comprehensive Health Reform Act Background * Introduced by Senator Jim Ferlo. Summary of Pennsylvania Balanced and Comprehensive, Health Care Reform Act of 2005 * Implementation of reforms - January 1, 2007. * A Commonwealth Health Plan that includes a comprehensive package of health, dental, and mental health coverage with full prescription drug benefits for every Pennsylvanian. * Retains the private practice of medicine economic model and patient choice. * Single payer efficiency and savings using a Commonwealth Health Trust. * No deductibles, co-payments or caps. * Replaces all government programs excepting Medicare and VA. * Parties to collective bargaining agreements with health benefits at least as generous as the Commonwealth Plan may opt out of the program. * Consumers are provided a choice between: :(1) a new administrative no-fault program providing a reasonable and immediate set of benefits to anyone injured by their medical care regardless of how careful the health care provider may have been, and :(2) retaining their traditional fault based remedies and right to sue. The Commonwealth Plan will fund both the no-fault and fault approaches eliminating malpractice insurance premiums for Participating Providers. * Providers unwilling to accept the reimbursement rates set by the Commonwealth Plan may opt out but will also then be excluded from the no-fault program. They must further advise patients in advance that they will be required to pay a portion of the fees charged. * $1000 per year tax rebates for active volunteer firefighters, EMTs, and rescue workers. * Medical error reduction through an aggressive and fully funded program to investigate all claims of errors and then to require better health care practices. Recommendations of the Cost Containment Council will also be implemented and enforced. * The certificate of need process would be restored to reduce redundant capital investment in expensive health care technology. * Establishing a culture of wellness through a fully funded K through 12 health education and physical fitness curriculum. * Transitional assistance to employees displaced by a single payer system. * Funding of a 21st Century digital medical record system. * Dedicated funding of the Health Care Trust through a 10% Health Care Levy on payrolls (including the self-employed) plus a 3% Wellness Tax on all personal income. This becomes 1% each for employers and employees covered by qualifying collective bargaining agreements that include comparable health care coverage. Insights In Pennsylvania, 1 million people have no health insurance of any sort. Most of these uninsured work, often at more than one job. Millions of others are grossly under-insured, with employer- provided benefits shrinking every year. A combination of safety net programs, including Medicaid, Adult Basic, CHIPS, and others, are under annual budget pressure, with the scope of benefits shrinking. Those of us fortunate enough still to have private or employer-sponsored group insurance have seen our average premiums increase 10 to 30 per cent, on a compounded basis, per year. This means that, during the interval between the Presidential elections of 2004 and 2008, premium costs will increase about 100 per cent, despite higher co-payments and deductibles. As a result, more employers will reduce or discontinue their programs, just as General Motors and others are doing. Many of us feel trapped in a system that doesn't work very well. Even if our most urgent medical needs are met, many of us go without dental work, eyeglasses, and mental health services. We all remember the last couple of attempts to address universal health coverage at the national level. They didn't get far, despite the fact that a majority of Americans favor national health insurance. Did you know that Canada does not have national health care coverage legislation? Rather, Canada's health care system is based on legislation adopted at the provincial level. So, why not here? A movement is afoot to solve the health care problem at the state level. So far, nineteen states are looking at state-based solutions. Pennsylvania is one of them, and has taken the lead with Senate Bill 1085. Details * All Pennsylvanians would be fully covered, including prescription, dental, mental health, and long-term care coverage. This benefit would exist regardless of employment or marital status. * This statewide program would be managed through an efficient single-payer Health Trust in order to recapture the 25 per cent of every health dollar currently wasted through the private insurer system. * The Bill also would solve our medical malpractice crisis through adoption of a no-fault system that assures fair compensation to the consumer where appropriate while, at the same time, reducing nearly all doctor/hospital malpractice premiums to zero. * The Plan is economically sound. Instead of health premiums, co-pays, deductibles, and such, the $43 billion required to fund the Program would come from a new 10 per cent payroll tax paid by employers and the self-employed plus a 3 per cent personal income tax. For most employers and individuals, this represents a substantial decrease in the current cost of health coverage. For employers and individuals who currently pay nothing into the health care system, this represents the end of the free ride and the beginning of their fair share contribution. * Unemployed Pennsylvania residents would be covered, even though they have no income. Veterans and people currently covered under Medicare would continue with their current coverage, but the new Plan would "wrap around" those coverages to fill in the gaps and eliminate the need for supplemental insurance. * A commitment to a wellness curriculum in our schools would also be supported by the Trust. Employer costs for workers compensation insurance would be cut in half, and auto and premises liability insurance would be reduced for everyone since medical costs related to accidents already would be automatically covered. * Because companies would no longer have to offer Pennsylvania employees health care coverage, the state would become a far more attractive place to do business, which would attract thousands of jobs to the Commonwealth. * The state also would benefit from the addition of jobs in health care created by bringing currently uninsured residents into the health care system. Many advantages are listed at http://www.pahcsc.org. More * See 101 Reasons for SB 1085 Details Senate Bill 1085 represents the fruit of thousands of hours of research, meetings and drafting by the Pennsylvania HealthCare Solutions Coalition and Pennsylvanians United for Reform in Health Care (PUR-HC), a membership organization with 501c3 status (meaning that you can make tax-deductible contributions to it). The Coalition and PUR-HC are citizen volunteer organizations. Those with a vested interest in retaining the current system can be expected to use their sizeable financial resources to propagandize, once again, against any reform that will reduce waste and potentially cut them out of the system. Just as they have in the past, they will use misinformation and scare tactics rather than permit a fair and rational debate to proceed. Without necessarily endorsing every word of Senate Bill 1085, many of us do want to see the legislation receive a fair, full, and open hearing as a starting point toward urgent health care reform. At First Unitarian Church, the Social Justice Endowment Committee (which administers the proceeds of the Social Justice Endowment Fund) decided that this legislative initiative constituted a real social movement, one we saw as reflective of Unitarian ideals and one we were happy to get behind. So we have made a $2,500 contribution and are spending about another $1,000 to get the word out within First Church and within the UU cluster. Links * Health Care * Health Care-plank from Mark Rauterkus * http://www.pahcsc.org * http://www.just-healthcare.org